The City of Hope National Medical Center is a private, not-for-profit clinical research center hospital and graduate medical school that is dedicated to making a difference in the lives of people with diabetes, cancer and other serious illnesses.

The City of Hope mission is accomplished by providing healthcare, conducting innovative research and offering vital education programs focused on eliminating these diseases.Through making a small contribution, Terra-Petra stands together with other construction industry professionals in the spirit of life to fight against cancer and search for a cure.

Environmental Engineering firm, Terra-Petra, will once again have a booth in the “Green Zone” booth N1665 on the Exhibition Floor at ICSC RECon 2015 in Las Vegas (May 17-20). For more information visit: https://lnkd.in/bDrCKKS.

Terra-Petra is serving as the environmental engineer of record for a large retain development in Downey, California. The project is well under construction and has included the demolition of some existing buildings and mass grading for the site.

During grading activities, the contractor had uncovered several old abandoned concrete encased pipes buried in the soil. Terra-Petra was called out to analyze the concrete for asbestos content and to manage the removal of the material as needed.

Terra-Petra's Senior Project Scientist was able to mobilize to the site within 24 hours of the contractor reporting the discovery of potential ACM materials on the property. Within 48 hours, samples were collected and the results were received back from the lab stating: "the black felt/fibrous material showed negative for asbestos. The light-colored pipe encased in concrete showed positive for asbestos and will require special handling."

Terra-Petra is in the process of mobilizing its Industrial Hygienist to the site to manage the removal of the ACM per the local state and federal standards.

Historical Use of Asbestos
During World War II, use of Asbestos Containing Material (ACM) products peaked, and the shipbuilding industry utilized the mineral extensively. From the early 1900s to the 1970s, asbestos was the ideal material to use.

Why asbestos? Simple: It was cheap, durable, flexible and naturally acted as an insulating and fireproofing agent. The construction and manufacturing industries fell in love with its potential and used asbestos-containing products whenever possible.

Malignant mesothelioma, otherwise known as mesothelioma cancer, commonly develops in the lungs of people exposed to asbestos. Effective treatments are available to ease symptoms and improve your prognosis.

The cancer usually affects the thin, protective membrane surrounding the lungs, heart or abdominal cavity. Doctors diagnose an estimated 3,000 cases a year in the United States, and the majority of those are traced to job-related asbestos exposure.

Although asbestos use declined dramatically in recent decades in this country, the incidence of malignant mesothelioma remains steady. That difference can be traced to the distinct latency period linked to the cancer.

The disease can take anywhere from 20 to 50 years after exposure to asbestos before it shows obvious symptoms and an oncologist can make a definitive diagnosis.

While no cure for the disease exists and the prognosis is typically poor, researchers made significant progress in recent years in understanding the cancer and developing new treatment options and alternative therapies.

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) December, 02 2014–Environmental Engineering firm Terra-Petra recently announced that it has continued to formalize its national expansion with the opening of its newest office in New York City. The environmental engineering firm, specializing in contaminated soil and groundwater conditions, has opened its newest office in One Penn Plaza, on the 36th Floor.

Terra-Petra’s expertise starts with soil gas characterization, remediation, and in the design and inspection of gas mitigation systems for buildings of all types – including commercial, multiple family, single family, industrial, institutional and retail. We are methane experts and methane gas specialists. With the NYC office officially in place, the firm has already taken projects in the surrounding areas.

“Our expansion out east allows for the opportunity to offer coast to coast coverage of Terra-Petra’s services. We have found that many of our clients that are based on the east coast have projects going on in the west coast, and visa-versa,” said Kevin Buchanan, CEO of Terra-Petra. “It’s a very unique situation with many of our clients, and for us to have a presence in New York simply strengthens our relationships with our larger clients. As we suspected, our clients on the east coast are faced with very similar environmental constraints that exist on the west coast.”

“Our national reach allows us to jump in with our expertise without missing a beat, when called on to perform our services,” Justin Conaway, Terra-Petra VP/General Manager added. “Terra-Petra is also looking at the possibility of opening up an office in the Midwest next year, in order to give us even better national coverage of our services. More to come on that as we move into 2015.”

Terra-Petra was founded, and is committed towards the purpose of creating a safe environment for building and structure occupants, free of toxic vapors and volatile organic compounds. Terra-Petra utilizes current expertise and state-of-the-art technology to engineer environmental solutions in concert with local and federal agencies to assure compliance with all code and regulations, and ultimately protecting people from unsafe building conditions.

More about Terra-Petra
With its strong presence in the environmental engineering industry for over 20 years, Terra-Petra has many successful projects to lean on. The company started its operations focusing on the Los Angeles market to address the local "methane concerns" that quickly became a big issue in the early 1980s. Terra-Petra’s in-house experts were also a big part of the original team that developed the local Los Angeles Methane Code which has been mirrored by many other cities over the years. With more than 80 years of collective experience in the environmental and soil gas mitigation fields along with a staff of Construction Managers, Civil Engineers, Registered Environmental Assessors, and Registered Geologist/Certified Engineering Geologists, Terra-Petra has the ability to find compromise solutions for any environmental concern that may arise. .

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) April 11, 2014–Terra-Petra was pleased to have been a part of a very successful project with Western Realco, LLC in Anaheim this last month. Terra-Petra carried out the Property Management Plan (PMP) for the site during grading activities ahead of the construction of the building’s foundation, given that TPH and VOC-impacted soil might be encountered during site grading and building construction activities.

As a precautionary measure, the building on site was equipped with an active soil gas mitigation system, complete with a sub-slab venting system, vapor barrier and mechanical extraction fans. Based upon Terra-Petra’s expertise, the company was responsible for serving as the Construction Quality Assurance and Construction Quality Control (CQA/CQC) Officer for Western Realco throughout the construction of the soil vapor mitigation system. Each and every item of the approved plans was inspected and under the watchful eye of Terra-Petra’s inspection team. The system was installed with minimal issues. Terra-Petra was there every step of the way to document and ensure compliance with all project specifications.

During the sale of the property, Terra-Petra also drafted and implemented an Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Plan for Western Realco that provided the determining mass emissions output for the active vent risers as was required in the project specifications. Test results were finished in record time in order to ensure that the work was completed within the due diligence phase of sale upon project completion.

About Terra-Petra

Terra Petra is an environmental engineering firm that specializes in contaminated soil and groundwater conditions. Our expertise starts with soil gas characterization, remediation, and in the design and inspection of gas mitigation systems for buildings of all types – including commercial, multiple family, single family, industrial, institutional and retail. For more information, visit: http://www.terra-petra.com.

About Western Realco

Western Realco, established in 1972, is a real estate business firm specializing in the development and acquisition of institutional quality commercial properties. For more information, visit: http://www.westernrealco.com.

According to Terra-Petra's VP/General Manager, Justin Conaway, "Terra-Petra performed all LADBS Deputy Methane Barrier Inspections (DMBI) for this project; we also provided manufacturer required below grade waterproofing system inspections to ensure the project received the full 15 year Hydro Shield warranty."

Terra-Petra Deputy Methane Barrier Inspectors are cross-trained, qualified and certified to perform the below grade waterproofing inspections in order to provide a substantial cost-savings by performing both of services with one inspector. Terra-Petra currently employs 7 LADBS Deputy Methane Barrier Inspectors (DMBI).

"We are proud to be a part of such an outstanding project and very excited for Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and their quest to provide services for today's new era of health care within the new Advanced Health Sciences Pavillion," said Kevin Buchanan, President of Terra-Petra.

Terra-Petra is an environmental engineering firm specializing in contaminated soil and groundwater conditions. Our expertise starts with soil gas characterization, remediation, and in the design and inspection of gas mitigation systems for buildings of all types.